Disparate salary wants cause talent shortage

Close to half of local employers find it difficult to find talent, and 28 percent of them believe job seekers have a higher salary expectation than the industry standard, according to a survey conducted by ManpowerGroup.

The survey found that 45 percent of local employers face a talent shortage problem. Taiwan's talent shortage problem ranks No. 15 in the world and No. 5 in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan, India, New Zealand and Hong Kong rank higher than Taiwan.

ManpowerGroup has conducted the talent shortage survey for nine continuous years. This year, Manpower surveyed over 37,000 companies in 42 countries and regions around the world, including 1,071 employers from Taiwan.

The world economy and job market are undergoing rapid changes, Manpower said. The local economy has also been transforming fast, increasing the disparity between academia and industry's talent requirement. As neighboring countries compete to recruit talent, Taiwan's human resource shortage is not unforeseeable, said Manpower.

The human resources company suggests that job seekers level up their hard and soft skills and also stay updated on trends in the job market. Enhancing your competitiveness will increase your salary negotiation leverage, the company said.

It is specious for businesses to hold salaries at outdated "standards" and then say that job seekers are demanding or candidates are lacking or applicants lack the needed skills. This is the market's reflection of the simple fact that Taiwan's workers are underpaid relative to their talent and skills.

Human capital is not rewarded in Taiwan. If you want to move to a more knowledge based and higher value-added economy, the mindset has to change. As an example, how much has the average Taiwan college graduate salary kept up with Taiwan's economic development and wealth creation over the past decades?

Offer a fairer compensation (or spend more capital for training) and see that these problems will go away on their own.